Allison Lloyd - April 2009

I am a Drexel University undergraduate student majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Tissue Engineering. Of my three cooperative experiences or co-op’s, I spent my final two at Boehringer Laboratories. From the get-go many aspects of this company pleased me. The employees were pleasant to work with, helpful and informative. The work I was given was applicable to my studies and my chosen career path. I enjoyed a wide variety of projects which involved almost every aspect of the medical device business as a whole, from engineering to sales and marketing, to manufacturing and production. I also enjoyed, and was challenged by, an unexpectedly high level of responsibility, which increased as I became more familiar with tools, concepts, and procedures, and gained more skills under supervision. Finally, to top it all off, I enjoyed the work I did. I especially loved being able to see a project through from a concept to a patent-pending product being evaluated by customers and ready to be manufactured.

More specifically, each of my two co-ops at Boehringer involved the development of at least one new product from an idea and rough sketch to something we could market and sell to improve healthcare. In this, Boehringer expended almost no time determining how much I could handle, and then giving me more responsibility than I thought I was ready for. I was placed in charge of the development of two new products. Though we worked closely on teams for both products, my timid inputs for the betterment of hand processes for the production of prototypes, as well as applied materials, developed testing procedures, and tools were all considered and often applied. I was able to visit hospitals to see Boehringer products in action, including many which were related to those I was working to develop. I never expected to co-op for a company where my ideas would be, not only seriously considered, but even implemented in real-time manufacturing processes, in products being sold, and in the final development of products for future market release.

My time at Boehringer was not all comprised of those two big projects, though. I also gained a great deal of experience through my smaller projects, completed in both co-op terms. For instance, I became very familiar with Solidworks, which is a drafting program very similar to AutoDesk Inventor and Auto CAD. Through this program, as well as Microsoft Word, Excel and Access, I additionally learned about the procedures and paperwork required to maintain records of engineering changes. Similarly, I drafted instructions for use and evaluation forms for new products, and even wrote an invention disclosure for one of these, which became the draft for a patent application for that product. Furthermore, I was able to design and perform experiments, which successfully produced quantitative results. These experiments taught me to remove variables, and consider well all aspects of the system or object to be tested before beginning the experiment, and to maintain consistency, even while testing for several things at one time. In addition to my engineering work, I also gained valuable experience in areas which touched upon marketing, manufacturing, and production.

From quality control walk-throughs and product inspection to information video development, my technical understanding of the products proved useful in non-engineering divisions of the company. To begin, I was thoroughly involved in the filming, narration, and audio/video editing of a set of informational and marketing videos for an entire product line. This set of videos, when completed, was not only given to our sales representatives in the field, but was also posted on the company website, and professionally applied to DVD’s for further distribution to Boehringer distributors and clients. Along those lines, I also produced a short animation clip to be run as a marketing piece demonstrating the function of the main product. This was imbedded in the website. I also began a shorter video for a different product line. Needless to say, I became very well versed in the use of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, Jasc Animation Software, and Nero Audio programs, among others. Additionally, I helped to develop marketing literature such as brochures for existing products, and produced PowerPoint presentations for research in which I was involved, as well as for new products I was helping to bring to fruition. Despite the above described tasks, rather little of my work was actually accomplished from behind a desk.

In fact, I believe the majority of my time at Boehringer was actually spent away from my desk. For instance, any given day I might be found in the biology laboratory conducting an experiment, or in the machine shop making test apparatus, tools, or prototypes, or even in the clean room running tests, inspecting product and overseeing or adapting the process for the monthly production of products. I even gave a presentation! My work at Boehringer also allowed me to meet with managers, other engineers, and technicians from other companies, as well as nurses, doctors, and more from local hospitals. On that note, I was able to visit hospitals, and manufacturing plants. Keeping busy was certainly never a problem at Boehringer; and every day was completely new, different, and exciting.

All in all, I felt that Boehringer provided the most comprehensive and satisfying experience one can possibly expect to gain from any co-op or even many full-time positions. I learned so much from my experience at Boehringer; and what I have learned not only helps me in the classroom, but will also help me in the future. I was instructed and aided in my tasks, but was also given a great degree of freedom with which to complete them, allowing me to learn and be creative. I was challenged by the complexity of my assignments, as well as their duration and variety, which also furthered my learning. Finally, I was accepted not only as an employee, but as an engineer. At Boehringer, I have come to learn that one’s success is only limited by one’s determination and dedication to see it through to the end.